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Astari
Known for their great wisdom, spirituality, and foresight, the Astari are one of the elder races in Innaveria. Created by the goddess Nimue, these starfallen creatures are burdened with the ability to peer into the Tapestry of Fate - threads of the Grand Design. This gift allows them to gaze into the past, present, and the many possibilities of the future. They are a gentle, soft-spoken, and polite people, carefully guiding kingdoms, other races, and history itself with their precognitive powers. They make their homes in Zintil, a land eternally draped in night and starlight. Many Astari, however, venture far from their homelands to serve as counselors and seers to foreign lords. Physiology Astari are not born - they once live suspended among the stars, watching over the world and the fate's tapestry. When the Grand Design ordains that they are to serve in an earthbound form, they are flung from the sky, plunging into the earth like falling stars. They awake in their mortal coil possessing all the wisdom and knowledge they had gathered as sidereal observers. The children of the stars are blessed with an unearthly, celestial beauty. They are a tall people, with powerful and statuesque physiques. Their hair resemble and reflect the colors of a shimmering nebula and their eyes gleam like captured starlight. Glowing marks that resemble constellations adorn their iridescent pale blue skin. These marks flare up when the Astari use their divination abilities or cast spells. The Astari enjoy a natural resistance to harmful magic, believed to be an effect of their marks and strong connection with fate. It is often said that spells slide off Astari like so many drops of water. Instinctively, they keenly feel the warps, wefts, and weaves of fate and the movements of celestial bodies. Though the starfallen can live for centuries, time does not manifest its passing upon their bodies, untouched by the frailties of age and common diseases. Poison, inebriation, and magic-inflicted ailments can still affect them. The Astari are a nocturnal people. Daylight weakens their connection to the stars, blurring their vision, and causing them to feel less powerful and perceptive. When the night falls, they feel revitalized. Astari have midnight blue blood. When an Astari dies, their corpse stays for a brief period before disintegrating into flecks of starlight, returning to the sky from whence they fell. Life Cycle The Astari enter different stages in their lifetime, not measured in years, but spiritual enlightenment. * Star - Incorporeal and bodiless, the Astari begins its life as a luminous sphere of energy in the firmament. They soon develop an awareness, amassing knowledge and memories from the Tapestry of Fate. In this phase, they "dream" about various subjects such as the history of the world, the language and culture of the Astari, the nature of gods, and everything they need to know to survive the unforgiving world of mortals. Few remember their time as sidereal observers, but some can hazily recall having lived among the stars, watching over the world as destiny ran its course. * Lucent '''- After a period spent as a Star, the Tapestry establishes when the Astari is ready to be sent into Innaveria. Within the light, they gradually form a physical body. They are plucked from their celestial dwelling, and fall from the sky in a scintillating blaze. The Lucent wakes into a strange world, retaining knowledge they had obtained in their stellar form, all the while getting used to a new ungainly body. A compulsion guides them to journey towards the Astari homeland, Zintil. There, the Lucent begins their mentorship and training, honing their skills as seers, studying a craft, or learning self-defense, such as martial arts, weapons, or magic, if they are born with the gift. The Lucent seeks its calling - a purpose and role in the grand design of things. * '''Beacon - When an Astari finds their calling and begins their journey to attain spiritual awakening, they become a Beacon, sometimes called "Younger". This journey could mean anything from starting a long and arduous pilgrimage, taking up a profession, or mastering a school of martial arts. Many Beacons find themselves in foreign soil, counseling foreign lords. It is not uncommon for Beacons to remain in Zintil, mentoring the Lucents. * Luminary - Luminaries are Astari who have achieved their purpose in the Grand Design. They are the most enlightened of the starfallen, dispensing wisdom from centuries of experience. Their abilities as seers are unmatched, and as a result, they lose their physical eyesight, as they find themselves no longer in need of it. They are deeply revered, becoming sages and leaders of the nation. At any time they feel that their business in Innaveria is concluded, they can choose to depart from the mortal world, returning to the stars. This process is called "exaltation" where they once again become watchers of the Tapestry of Fate. Psychology Though personalities vary greatly, Astari are generally seen by other races as gentle, wise, and well-mannered. They are known to be extraordinarily patient and far-seeing. It is not uncommon for Astari, especially Luminaries, to make decisions that at the time seem incomprehensible and ludicrous, only for such carefully-laid plans to pay off as they predicted decades or even centuries later. The Astari are exceedingly polite, almost to a fault. When speaking with strangers and acquaintances, they would never refer to themselves in the first person - doing so is considered self-important, as they believe that all are but a small part in the Grand Design. Instead they refer to themselves as "this one" or "this servant". Most Astari are pacifists, preferring to resolve disputes through diplomacy rather than violence, unless necessary. Soft-spoken though they are, the Astari will readily defend themselves with ferocious vigor should the need arise. (write something about spirituality, "all is one", communion with stars, and the Grand Design). Society Starseekers - Scouting parties that search for newly fallen Astari. Use advanced tracking divination spells. Equipped to fight slavers. Celestial Compact - A collective of far-seers and luminaries. History Category:Races